Back to School? Get back outside!

Every September there is a great migration. Flocks of children everywhere go from hanging out in trees and exploring the outdoors, to sitting behind a desk inside a classroom.

But it doesn't have to be that way. Parents and educators can encourage kids to spend time outside all year long. In fact, we need to. In a recent survey of Canadian youth conducted for the David Suzuki Foundation, 70 per cent said they spend about an hour or less outside a day. That's just not enough!

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We need to help our children understand that spending time outside is important. Studies have shown that spending time in nature helps with recall and memory, problem solving, and creativity. Children — and adults — who spend more time outside are also physically healthier.With school starting and schedules filling up, the David Suzuki Foundation wants you to make the time to be outside with your family. In fact, we want your family to spend the next four weeks creating a "nature habit."

We've created four fun and easy ways for you to enjoy nature in your neighbourhood and start thinking about your connections to nature.

Each activity has been adapted from the David Suzuki Foundation's new educational guide for grades four to six. The free guide has already received praise from the Ontario Ministry of Education, and will be used by teachers across Ontario this fall to help get their students outside. We hope you'll enjoy the guide and pass it on to teachers if you do!

Parents play a critical role in helping kids develop a nature habit. According to our survey, if youth spend time outside when they're young, they're 20 per cent more likely to take part in outdoor programs or to explore nature on their own when they're older. Perhaps most importantly, taking your kids into nature will leave them with some of their best childhood memories.

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